UCLA powers past San Jose State, 27-17
This was supposed to be the gimme, the patsy, the welcome reprieve in a non-conference Texas two-step that would test UCLA.
This was supposed to be the coming out party for the Bruins, a chance to build some momentum and excitement heading into an important Week 3 rematch with the Texas Longhorns, whom UCLA handled 34-12 on the road last year.
This was supposed to be a highlight debut for the renovated Rose Bowl, which hoped to reveal Phase One of a three-year plan, including a new scoreboard, to much fanfare.
Only there were very little fans and San Jose State didn't play fair, giving UCLA much more than it expected.
The Bruins survived with a 27-17 win in front of an announced crowd 42,685 at the Rose Bowl after coming in as three-touchdown favorites, relying on a potent running game to put the team in position to win and Kip Smith to capitalize on that position.
Running backs Derrick Coleman and Johnathan Franklin combined for 216 yards and two touchdowns on 30 carries, with Coleman gaining tough yards in the fourth quarter as the Bruins broke a 17-17 tie with a 10-point fourth quarter.
"That's what my job is," said Coleman, who had 74 yards in the fourth quarter. "When they call in me in the fourth quarter or whatever, I'm gonna go out there and do my job. They gave me the role to go out and get the tough yards, and that's what I'll do."
The hero, a week after being the goat, freshman kicker Kip Smith.
Smith hit two field goals, including a 20-yard attmept with 7 minutes, 31 seconds left in the game, after missing a field goal and having an extra point attempt blocked against Houston in a 38-34 Week 1 loss.
The redshirt freshman kicker, inheriting the job from school legend Kai Forbath, was the picture of misery after the defeat to Houston, the emotion dripping down his cheeks.
In the Rose Bowl locker room, he was all smiles, relieved that a change in his mechanics - and a little prayer - did the trick.
"In the bible it says you're on God's time not your own," Smith said. "You have to take everything in perspective again. The guys on the team telling me not to get down on myself helped. I don't like missing - all I do is kick, I wat to make them. But it was first game of the season, a long season, and I can't be down in the dumps the whole time.
That the Bruins would need to put it in his hands was a surprise, made less of a surprise because they couldn't keep anything in their own.
Two late-game fumbles - one by running back Johnathan Franklin in the third quarter and another by wide receiver Taylor Embree - put UCLA against the wall, the onus passing back to the defense.
Junior cornerback Sheldon Price responded as he intercepted a Dasmen Stewart pass on 3rd-and-5 at the San Jose State 37-yard line to set up Smith's game-turning field goal.
"I think that's a heart and desire thing," said senior linebacker Sean Westgate, who had another interception in the third quarter. "We did a fair amount of blitzing in the first half; that's more a heart thing than turning up the heat. This school is a defense school, and our defense has so much pride."
The Spartans tested that pride with a running game that burst out after a meager season-opening performance against Stanford in a 57-3 Week 1 loss. San Jose State rushed for 202 yards against a shoddy UCLA defense after gaining just 27 rushing yards in Week 1.
Brandon Rutley delivered the big blow for the Spartans, making a beautiful cut for a 65-yard touchdown run in the third quarter that tied the game at 17.
UCLA responded, though, with a steady dose of Franklin and Coleman.
With the passing game sputtering after a breakout Week 1 - quarterback Richard Brehaut completed 12-of-23 passes for 145 yards and a touchdown after throwing for 264 yards and two scores against Houston - the Bruins toughened it out down the stretch.
"That's how football is, that's how any game is - when u start hitting a guy in the mouth, there are two different types of people, the people who respond to it and people who back off," Coleman said. "We're not that type. They hit us in the mouth in the first quarter, and we're not the type of team that backs off. We're gonna hit them back in the mouth."
So Jon, can we UCLA fans start worrying now??? Missed tackles, missed assignments...Neuheisal is losing his players and they are not disciplined! As seen in their numerous on-field penalties. I never thought I'd miss Bullough's conservative 4-3 base defense, but Tresey's assignments and play-calling looks terrible and lacking in intensity....I didn't think that was possible in comparision to Bullough's defensive scheme!!! And, Mike Johnson's offensive playcalling looked unimaginative and poorly executed tonight!! Doesn't UCLA deserve better after all these years of mediocrity!!
Stanford beat these guys by 54 points. Rick needs a late 4th quarter TD to win by 10.
4th and 2 on the san jose 38 and we punt...typical coach neu play calling...every year he does this...does he not have faith in his offense and defense?...that is just sad...i turned the game off after that and watched MICH/ND...now that was a game and had all the college atmosphere i want in a football game...ucla is just sad these days...
Play the freshman.
Same ol, same ol here. Nothing new for the Bruins. Always have to play to the level of the competition no matter who the coach is. Next week we will get a lights-out performance before we go and lay an egg in Corvalis. This program is so predictable. Well, at least we got the first one out of the way. Now only 7 more wins to go........... right.
A win is a win
We have way too much talent at running back to just live and die with Jonathan Franklin. Give the ball to the back with the hot hand. If Neuheisel had gone to Coleman in the first half, UCLA would have blown them out.
"It just matters what this team thinks," defensive lineman Datone Jones said. "San Jose State they are humans and they are football players, too. They came out and had momentum and we just fought as good teams do. It doesn't matter how you win, as long as you get the W."
Sure, nobody is going to throw the win back, but sometimes, it does matter how you win. When you are playing a team that has been on the skids for at least two seasons and is 2-34 against teams from BCS conference since 1996, you're supposed to roll.
Especially when you need to prove something to a fan base that is wary of a team that's been mired in the clutches of mediocrity for the better part of the last decade. A close call over one of the NCAA's bottom feeders isn't exactly going to fill those empty seats.
That was from Peter Yoon on his ESPNLA UCLA blog. I couldn't say it any better, and Datone doesn't say it any better to show what's wrong with this program.
Joe Tressey needs to be called out, 220 yards rushing!?! Will Neuheisel blame Brehaut for that? Brehaut didn't have his best game, but who did? The O-Line and D.C. Derrick Coleman, that's it. No sacks and strong rushing. Bob Palcic should be rightfully lauded for his impressive coaching. Tressey should have his pants pulled.
This team has no spark. All Tressy can do is yell and his defense schemes are worthless and he has shown that in practice he never taught them how to tackle!!! All any Pac 12 team has to do is drag a receiver or back across the middle and there is no one there to cover them?Neuheisel needs to play Hundley to Spark The Whole Team or he will completely lose them to these same type of performances.
Sorry, but Brehaut had an AWFUL game. His reads and checks were just plain bad. He could not read the defenses or check into the right plays to take advantage of mismatches (of which there were a TON, SJSU was in single coverage almost all night). Then he would give the ball to the back when he should have kept it, and kept it when he should have given it up. He just did not seem focused, nor did the rest of the team.
It goes back to the tepid week of practice, where despite the coaching staff's insistence on intensity, the players just felt they could phone it in.
What happen to Devian Lucien getting playing time??/ We need a spark!
Thank you, Semi-Pro, for telling it how it is. I'm pulling for Brehaut, but too many people here think, and I quote, "he's the next Cade McNown." This saddens me because it shows my young fellow Bruins can't recognize good QB play, since they've never been exposed to it. (To be fair, Drew Olson was pretty good, but not a superstar.) And, for the record, I'm not suggesting Prince is a star, either.
Jon,
Would you ask RN why he punted from the 38 to start the game and did he realize the statement he made to both the offensive and defensive units by doing so? That being he had no confidence in either units to either stop SJS or get the 1st down. That play netted 18 yards in field position and made a huge statement to the team, as well as the fans...
Chuck
Bruins will beat Texas next week, and then they'll get blown out by a crappy team, probably more than once, in the coming weeks.
They play up (or down) to their opponent. It's a frustrating state of affairs that's been true for too long. Were they a top 10 team they might (MIGHT) still be able to pull out some wins, but they're far from that and it's gonna bite em in the arse, as it did last season.
I don't know if it's on the coaches or the kids, or both. They should have MORE than enough motivation at this point to play lights out every damn game, wouldn't you think?
As it is, those quotes above from Coleman and Westgate sound ridiculous given the team's performance in these first two games.
And risk of injury be damned, Tresey better start practicing some tackling in practice, stat. What the hell is practice for if not, you know, practicing your skills?
I'll remain hopeful that they can right things; after all, they did win, but things are gonna have to change in a hurry.
Lastly, I'd bet most of my possessions that Prince will start next week, too.
I am a Brehaut fan, but, based on his performance against a very average San Jose State team, I think they should leave the competition open until someone separates. Also, maybe use Hundley in garbage time; if he is all he is supposed to be, he will probably go out early anyway, so redshirting him is going to prove pointless
Neuheisel needs to stop babying these kids. He was right for yelling at the players at practice. Don't go back the next day and make excuses for them. They need a swift kick in the behind for the way they played. Zumwalt should've been benched for the rest of the game for that stupid late hit. I know Love is out but someone else should start at OLB for the next game. I lost count of how many times Zumwalt lost containment and allowed the QB to get to the outside for major gains. You are not better than you played. You are as good as the way you played. I'm tried of hearing "I know we're better than the way we played today" If you know you are better then how come you don't play better.
I'm tired of this open quarterback situation. Enough already...name the starting QB. When are we going to see Hundley? Apparently he has an arm and has the wheels to gain 10+ yards. I'm still a believer of the blue and gold but how long is the mediocrity going to last.
Hundley will get his chance soon.
And when fully ready, he will erase the frustrations saddled with this position now for years ...
Also interested in some of the names thrown out there who could change the entire culture of UCLA football, which, sadly, is what obviously needs to happen.
Great thinking, but Boise State's Peterson would never come.
What about San Diego State's (and former UCLA D.C.) Rocky Long?
Hell, what about De La Salle (H.S.) Coach Laudecauer? (sp?) ... the nation's winningest prep coach over the past 20 years. He gets his kids to play at a level that is just sick year in and year out. No excuses allowed.
It's Brehaut's fault! Allowing a Spartan team than rushed for only 27 yards to rush for a net gain of 202 in the Rose Bowl against us! Oh wait, I must be channeling my inner Neuheisel.
I still have faith in my Bruins to have a good season and BEAT $C. Thats my honest opinion. But defense, defense, defense, and oh ya DEFENSE!!!! I used to sit here and watch in years passed when the offense would actually score a few and yell at my tv "Ok defense the offense is helping you now" RIIIIIIIIGGHHHHHTTT. Now we actually can score some points because the trojan is not calling the plays within an offense he didn't agree with in the first place and we can't stop anybody. When will the madness stop?? When can we get back to where we were in the 90's when my first memories of bruin greatness were formed in football. I am only 25 but I remember us sitting atop the polls and do not understand why that cannot happen again! Our DC needs to be called out!